The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-108 on Friday in the Western Conference Game 3 semifinals, but the game was overshadowed by veteran referee Tony Brothers’ heated confrontation with Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch.
With over five minutes remaining in the final quarter and the score tied at 102–100, Finch called for a timeout, which Brothers apparently ignored. Once play stopped, Finch filed his complaint and asked a procedural question about inbounds to Brothers. Brothers didn’t just walk away; he moved closer to Finch and started arguing with him.
Finch remained steadfast in his post-match assessment. “I wanted the timeout, and he heard me clearly. He looked my way and ignored me, it almost cost us a turnover. He lost it,” Finch said. “Then I went to ask where the ball would be retrieved and he shouted about it. Completely unprofessional behaviour.”
Blake Griffin criticized Tony Brothers’ approach to Prime Video’s postgame coverage. “I’ve never seen an official tackle a coach like that. To be honest, I thought Tony went too far,” Griffin said. “It is an official’s job to de-escalate. Coaches coach, players play, everyone has their role.”
Dirk Nowitzki echoed the concerns. ‘You can shout at each other once, but then you both go your separate ways. Instead, Finchy came back and Tony Brothers came back. It’s too much of a distraction that we don’t need. Probably wrong on both sides.”
In particular, Spurs’ free throws were saved after Tony Brothers failed to declare it a technical foul following the altercation in a closely contested match. Regardless, the Wolves only scored eight points the rest of the game, losing Game 3 and falling behind 2-1.
